Robert H. McLaughlin

Signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt, the Antiquities Act of 1906 (P.L. 59-209, 34 Stat. 225) became the first major federal legislation to govern archaeology in the United States. The act prohibits the removal of antiquities from federal lands without first obtaining a permit for scientific investigation. It authorizes federal courts to impose a fine of up to $500 and imprisonment of up to ninety days against any person convicted of violating the criminal provision of the act.

The act also established a regulatory process through which the federal government could identify sites on its lands, administer permits for archaeological fieldwork and excavations, record findings, establish collections of artifacts, and designate archaeological sites as...